Monique Jilesen

The appellant purchasers appealed a judgment enforcing a limitation of liability clause in a pre-construction condominium agreement of purchase and sale that restricted their damages for the respondent developer's breach to the return of deposits with interest.

The appellants argued the clause was unconscionable, contrary to the consumer protections of the Tarion Addendum, and that the respondent should have brought it to their attention.

The Court of Appeal found no error, noting that the appellants were sophisticated purchasers represented by counsel who negotiated significant changes to the agreement, and that the Tercon analysis provided an effective safeguard against abuse of limitation clauses.

In the context of CCAA proceedings, the court-appointed Monitor sought a Mareva injunction against a former executive, his company, and his spouse.

The Monitor alleged that the executive had misappropriated millions of dollars from the insolvent companies for personal use, including purchasing a yacht, private jet fractional interests, and real estate, while failing to remit significant taxes.

The court found a strong prima facie case of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against the executive and his company, and inferred a real risk of asset dissipation given their ties to St. Lucia.

An uncapped Mareva injunction was granted against them.

However, the court found insufficient evidence of actual knowledge to establish a strong prima facie case of knowing assistance or receipt against the spouse, and instead ordered her to provide a statement of worldwide assets.

Carillion Canada Inc. brought a motion within its CCAA proceedings for an order directing HSBC Bank Canada to return $6.8 million that HSBC had unilaterally debited from Carillion's operating account to set off obligations under letters of credit.

The court found that while HSBC breached the initial stay order by exercising self-help without seeking leave, the funds were legally available for set-off.

Applying the Supreme Court's guidance in Montréal, the court held that HSBC's claim was a valid 'pre-pre' set-off preserved under section 21 of the CCAA.

The motion was dismissed, but HSBC was ordered to pay $50,000 in costs due to its conduct in breaching the stay.

The plaintiffs brought a proposed class action against the developers of a cancelled pre-construction condominium project, alleging breach of contract and bad faith in invoking an early termination condition.

Following a settlement meeting and document review, the parties agreed to a without-costs discontinuance.

The court approved the consent motion to discontinue the action under section 29 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, finding that the discontinuance would not prejudice the putative class members, who had not yet been notified of the proceeding and could still pursue individual claims before the expiry of the limitation period.

The applicant, an incumbent biomedical waste disposal provider, challenged the award of a new primary supplier contract to a competitor.

The applicant alleged that the respondents engaged in bid repair and breached their duty of fairness by allowing the competitor to delay the implementation of services and assisting them with regulatory approvals post-award.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the duty of fairness to unsuccessful bidders ended once the contract was awarded, and that the post-award communications were operational in nature and did not constitute bid repair.

The court also rejected the argument that the respondents had irrevocably elected the applicant as the primary supplier by utilizing their services during the transition period.

The plaintiffs brought a class action alleging that the defendant financial institutions breached their trust and fiduciary duties by failing to disclose markup fees charged on foreign currency conversions in registered accounts.

The parties brought cross-motions for summary judgment on the common issues, and the defendants moved for decertification.

The court found that the defendants breached the trust agreements by failing to disclose the amount of the markup fees.

The court ordered an accounting of profits to be determined at a reference, emphasizing the need to deter fiduciary misconduct.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims for an elevated interest rate and punitive damages, and dismissed the defendants' motion to decertify the class action.

The Canadian respondents brought a motion to set aside an ex parte Mareva injunction that froze their assets worldwide.

They argued the injunction should be set aside due to material non-disclosure by the applicants and insufficient evidence of their involvement in the alleged $71.7 million fraud or risk of dissipation.

The court dismissed the motion to set aside, finding no material non-disclosure and sufficient evidence of knowing receipt of misappropriated funds and risk of dissipation.

However, the court varied the order to release funds for the respondents' living and legal expenses.

The court also granted a sealing order over the transcripts of the respondents' compelled examinations to protect their rights against self-incrimination in light of a criminal investigation in Iran.

The respondents' request for security for the applicants' undertaking as to damages was denied.

The plaintiffs sought judicial approval of two settlement agreements in class actions alleging price-fixing in the automotive parts industry.

The first settlement with T.Rad was for $1,167,452, and the second with S-Y Systems was for $50,000.

The court found both settlements to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, noting they fell within a zone of reasonableness.

The settlements and requested legal fees were approved.

The parties settled an eight-year litigation regarding custom-built moulds.

Following the settlement, the defendants brought a motion for contempt alleging the plaintiff violated interlocutory orders by improperly storing two moulds outdoors, causing them to deteriorate.

The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the contempt motion.

The court granted the motion to strike, finding the underlying orders did not mandate any specific storage method and the contempt motion was a frivolous and vexatious attempt to re-litigate the settled action.

A case conference endorsement in a commercial dispute over a $10 million commission.

The plaintiff sought to proceed to mediation, which the defendants opposed.

The court declined to order mediation for unwilling commercial parties, noting it would waste time and money.

The court issued general case management directions and specific deadlines for the examination for discovery of a third party and for the defendants to answer overdue undertakings.

The Applicants, under CCAA protection, brought a motion seeking an order to authorize and approve the Revised Fourth DIP Amendment.

The motion was opposed by the USW and GIP.

The court granted the motion, finding that the DIP solicitation process was competitive, robust, and fair, and that the Revised Fourth DIP Amendment was the best available proposal.

The amendment addressed previous concerns by providing a maturity date past the winter build period, a sufficient commitment amount, and minimal conditions on covenants.

The plaintiff railway company sought interlocutory injunctive relief after former employees joined a direct competitor and allegedly downloaded and circulated confidential commercial information, including customer lists and revenue data, to solicit the plaintiff’s clients.

The parties agreed to an injunction preserving confidential information and restricting its use, but disputed whether an independent court-appointed monitor should oversee compliance with the order.

The court found the defendants had initially fallen short in complying with an earlier undertaking but had taken substantial remedial steps, including forensic searches, employee discipline, and written directives prohibiting use of the information.

The court concluded that appointing a monitor with broad investigative and supervisory powers would be overly intrusive into the defendant corporation’s business operations.

The court held that the contempt power and the existing order sufficiently protected the plaintiff’s interests.

The plaintiff in a proposed class action regarding defective condominium bathtub valves brought a motion to set aside settlements reached between the defendants and several putative class members prior to certification.

The defendants had offered $500 and a valve replacement to unit owners who contacted them, in exchange for a release.

The court dismissed the motion, finding no breach of the Class Proceedings Act or Rules of Professional Conduct, and concluded that court intervention was not necessary to protect the putative class members' interests at this stage.

The moving parties sought an order restraining a private investigator from disclosing or assisting others in disclosing documents and information obtained through the discovery process in related civil litigation.

The investigator, who was not a party to the action, had obtained thousands of documents produced on discovery and had disseminated some of them to third parties, including media outlets, and moved the documents outside the jurisdiction.

The court considered the scope and purpose of the deemed undertaking rule under Rule 30.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure and authorities recognizing that the rule protects discovery material from collateral use.

It held that the court has jurisdiction to restrain third parties who knowingly obtain and use discovery documents contrary to the rule.

Given the investigator’s deliberate conduct in soliciting and disseminating the documents and attempting to evade court authority, a restraining order was warranted.

The plaintiff, a former investment advisor, sought to certify a class action against the defendant for unpaid overtime under the Employment Standards Act.

The defendant argued that investment advisors were exempt from overtime provisions due to their managerial character or because their compensation provided a greater benefit.

The court found that the plaintiff met all five prerequisites for certification under s. 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, including that the applicability of the exemptions could be determined as common issues.

The motion for certification was granted.

The plaintiff, a former investment advisor, sought to certify a class action against his former employer for unpaid overtime under the Employment Standards Act.

The employer argued that investment advisors fall within the managerial or greater benefit exemptions.

The court found that the plaintiff met all five prerequisites for certification under section 5(1) of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, including that the applicability of the exemptions could be determined as common issues.

The motion for certification was granted.

In a CCAA proceeding, the Applicants (Hollinger Inc. et al.) sought approval of settlement agreements with their former auditors (KPMG) and lawyers (Torys).

The Non-Settling Defendants, including Conrad Black and David Radler, opposed the settlements, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction and that the included third-party releases and bar orders would deprive them of procedural rights to discovery.

The court held it had jurisdiction under the CCAA to manage litigation as a corporate asset.

The court approved the Pierringer-style settlements, finding that the procedural rights of the Non-Settling Defendants could be adequately protected through active case management and the application of the principle of proportionality in discovery.